Latin America gears up for ‘The Passion’

Lima, Peru, Mar 18, 2004 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Latin America is gearing up for the release of “The Passion of the Christ" in the region this week and ticket sales are well under way.

Twentieth Century Fox is expected to release the film gradually throughout the region. It began yesterday in Trinidad and Jamaica. It will release 500 prints of the film in Mexico tomorrow. Its last release will include 80 prints in Argentina, March 25. Three hundred prints are expected to be released in Brazil.

In Mexico, where about 90 percent of the population is Catholic, some theaters have already sold out entire screenings for previews to large Christian groups.

Archbishop Jose Ulises Macias Salcedo of Hermosillo said he will watch the film and has urged Mexican Catholics to watch it as well.

In Argentina, where the release is still one week away, almost all theaters have begun selling tickets.

In Peru, where Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne said “no one will be the same after seeing the film, Fox will release some 100 prints to meet demands.

A preview screening for the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica is scheduled for today.